I recently returned from a trip to Utah for a week of vacation and photography.  Last year, we visited at this same time and found pleasant, even cool temperatures in the St. George area and at Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks.  This year, we encountered record high temperatures in the area.  Early morning starts still provided some pleasant hiking and good photography, although cloudless blue skies prevailed.

On our first full day there, we returned to Zion National Park.  Rather than ride the crowded shuttle busses through the densely packed areas of the canyon again,  we chose a tour of the eastern portion of the park with some short hikes.  I took a similar photo last year of the Towers of the Virgin pictured above, but didn't get a great exposure with the bright morning sunlight and dark shadows.  This year,  I captured an exposure bracked which let me bring out some of the shadow detail in the foreground.  On Day 2,  we drove up to the Kolob Canyons area of Zion.  This was another less crowded experience with numerous places to stop and photograph, along with as much hiking as you wanted to take on.  We stuck to some short treks, and captured the sun lighting up the face of the canyon and reflecting on the opposite wall in this photo.
On Friday,  we returned to Snow Canyon State Park,  a real gem located just north of Ivins, Utah.  This minimalist photo is of the petrified sand dunes that emerge from the valley floor, which was the site of a massive lava flow.

Our last evening in Utah had just the slightest clouds, so we went up to the Snow Canyon overlook north east of the park for this sunset photo.  Sunset hues on the horizon complement the spectacular geology of the park.

I'll be featuring more of my photos from Utah on my social media feeds in the coming days.Follow me on Instagram or Vero, where  I post a new photo most weekdays featuring my current photographic activities.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog page!

Scott